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The Queen knows the public would not have accepted an arrangement that allowed the Sussexes to continue to enjoy taxpayer support.
Analysis
Royal family

Queen's message to Harry and Meghan couldn't be clearer: It's over

The most experienced British monarch in history knew her subjects would never have let the couple have their cake and eat it.

  • by Camilla Tominey

Latest

Dalila Jakupovic retires after suffering a horrendous coughing fit and breathing difficulties in the heavy, polluted air in Melbourne. Awful scenes
Opinion
Australian Open

Nobody wants to watch the Australian Chokin’

As the Australian Open starts, the world’s eyes are on Australia for a reason besides that whole ''apocalyptic inferno'' thing.

  • by Dom Knight
Piles of donations for bushfire victims in Cobargo.
Editorial
Bushfires

Open your hearts and wallets for bushfire victims

Donating to charity is wonderful but what people most need now is cash, not goods which are hard to sort and distribute.

  • The Herald's View
The Australian flag on a property at Oakdale with smoke from the bushfire approaches.
Opinion
Australia Day

Why it's shocking to feel 'embarrassed to be Australian'

There is a no doubt there are a lot of complex and divisive issues we need to work through as a nation, but we should feel good about who we are and what Australia stands for.

  • by Claire Kimball
Harry and Meghan
Opinion
Royal family

Is 'Megxit' the royals' greatest feminist act?

Meghan Markle most likely thought she could handle being part of the royal family. Hell, if you can make it in Hollywood how much harder can it be? But she underestimated some important elements.

  • by Maria Lewis
Under cover: Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex  take shelter at a community picnic in Dubbo, 2018.
Opinion
Royal family

I said to Meghan: 'Why don't you just jack it all in?'

Prince Harry has always been a wildcard and this next chapter in his story is really no shock.

  • by Bryony Gordon
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The internet cloud. iStock Photo File #19668905 Computers. People. iPad. Phone. Generic. Cloud, multiple devices, multi platform, iPad, smartphone, laptop. Credit: iStock
Opinion
Social media

Feeling anxious and powerless? Australia's only saint had advice

The 2010s felt like a series of great and sudden changes, of immense disruption, of death and rebirth.my impotence. And now, I worry about my future in a way I could never have imagined, and my impotence to change it.

  • by Jan Fran
Backing coal: Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.
Letters
Letters

Let's stop being a fossil on climate change

Your article points to positive steps forward from the PM. But he is still using his tricky language, which does little to alleviate my distrust of him.

Coptic Orthodox Christians pray.
Opinion
Religion

Religious persecution a growing global problem

The legacy of colonialism leads many people to believe that Christians are the ones in power doing the persecuting, but that is not so.

  • by Barney Zwartz
Melbourne city blanketed by smoke. Spotswood. 14th January 2020. Photo by Jason South
Analysis
Pollution

Why is air pollution so harmful? DNA may hold the answer

Scientists are still figuring out how air pollution causes so many ailments - and why some people are resilient to this modern onslaught.

  • by Carl Zimmer
Payments for volunteer firefighters will be sped up as the federal government frees up more cash for the bushfire response.
Opinion
Australian economy

Finally, some good news for the government (and for our economy)

The government can count its blessings that in a two-week period it managed to suffer two failures that put them and the country on a better path.

  • by Angela Jackson
Is race a factor? Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, plan to exit Britain.
Opinion
Royal family

Two women, two very different tales of repressive regimes

I feel for Meghan Markle in a personal sense. I just can’t join those who champion her as a feminist cause, emblematic of all “strong women” who take on a stuffy institution.

  • by Julie Szego
Alen Stajcic was removed as Matildas coach in January 2019.
Analysis
Matildas

A year on from Stajcic's sacking, what's changed for the Matildas?

Too many, indeed most, have argued their case as black and white when really much of the reason for Stajcic's dismissal falls somewhere in the grey.

  • by Anthony Colangelo
Brodie Grundy with teammate Ben Reid at Collingwood training.
Opinion
AFL 2020

Sport Thought: Is signing Grundy for seven years too big a risk?

Collingwood's decision to give ruckman Brodie Grundy the seven-year deal he desired is worth debating.

  • by Peter Ryan
Thailand and China are just two countries where women’s cricket is blossoming, as the game goes truly global.
Analysis
Australian cricket

How women are helping cricket become the new world game

Cricket is growing at such a rate through central Africa, Asia and the Pacific that the women's T20 World Cup could have featured far more than just 10 nations.

  • by Geoff Lawson
Switzerland's Roger Federer holds his trophy aloft after defeating Croatia's Marin Cilic during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Analysis
Australian Open

Long live the three kings of men's tennis

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated tennis for more than a decade. Don't be in a hurry for it to end.

  • by Neil Breen
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Forging their own path: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Opinion
Royal family

I don't like Meghan. That doesn't make me racist

The Duchess of Sussex is a world leader and a public figure. While that doesn't take away her right to any privacy, it also does not exempt her from criticism.

  • by Christine M. Flowers
Several neighbours complained to police about the flag.
Opinion
Racism

The law against racial hatred that can't be used to stop the advocacy of Nazism

There's never a good reason for going soft on hatred, except when all good intentions cannot be supported by the full force of the law.

  • by Tim Soutphommasane
David Watson is Professor of Ecology at Charles Sturt University.
Opinion
Bushfires

Welcome aboard, denialists: now let's stop fiddling and start fixing

For many, the bushfire crisis has brought a radical change in thinking. People are realising they were wrong. The climate really is changing.

  • by David Watson
The Ambassador of Australia to the United States Joe Hockey.
Letters
Letters

History not on Hockey's side

Sorry, Joe, we all know how that ended. But good luck anyway.

Roger Scruton: 'I knew I wanted to conserve things rather than pull them down'
Opinion
Philosophy

Beauty is meaning: How our choice of fork contains our world view

Beauty creates meaning, forming a relationship that elicits our best selves. So it’s no mere nice-to-have. Beauty is a core human value.

  • by Elizabeth Farrelly
Futurology is a fascinating, if inexact, science.
Analysis
Good Weekend

Meet the futurist with 2020 vision

Where is the year heading? The Future Exploration Network's Ross Dawson has a few ideas

  • by Greg Callaghan
Larry Fink ... "We will see changes in capital allocation more quickly than we see changes to the climate itself."
Opinion
Climate policy

The big money leaves coal for dust

While Australia clings to coal, global investors are moving to abandon it - not necessarily for ethical reasons, but because of the risk.

  • by Nick O'Malley
The populist backlash sweeping the advanced economies in recent years – think Trump, Brexit and Pauline Hanson – has produced some soul searching in the discipline, says Professor Rodrik.
Opinion
GDP

Populist revolt against their failed policies making economists rethink

Failed policies and a hierarchical male-dominated culture are causing soul-searching among economists.

  • by Ross Gittins
Jay Munro is head of career insights at Indeed.
Opinion
Careers

How to stay connected with managers and co-workers as a remote worker

Remote work has many selling points, but it is also important to understand the potential pitfalls.

  • by Jay Munro
A $4 sliced milkbar bread always tastes better than any dense gritty artisan $9 loaf.
Opinion
Satire

The cheapest things are often the best

A pissy $2 potato-peeler always peels better than any $20 "ergonomic" version that you have to hold back-to-front and upside-down.

  • by Danny Katz
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Former federal sports minister Bridget McKenzie (left) has come under fire for handing over   grants in marginal seats.
Opinion
Government grants

Minister's role in #SportsRortsII is a straight red card offence

It is not acceptable, and no amount of bloviating will make it so. Resign, Senator McKenzie.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Australian Defence Force troops and members of Forest Fire Management Victoria clear felled trees on the Princes Highway just outside Genoa.
Editorial
Bushfires

Speed critical in helping bushfire victims

Recovery programs must start immediately.

  • The Herald's View
Illustration: Simon Letch
Opinion
Big Bash

Blurred slur lines show code in need of reorientation

As long as male cricketers are insulated from the actual harm their words do, homophobic slurs will continue to be uttered.

  • by Malcolm Knox
Clancy doesn't mind the country life.
Opinion

Thank God, Clancy's a country boy

Clancy Glover finds himself a rock star in regional NSW.

  • by Richard Glover
A picture of all that remained of the cottage after the fire in August 2015.
Opinion
Bushfires

The advice I wish I knew before my house burnt down

The grey ash contained the bits and pieces that proved vital to allowing us to reclaim our lives.

  • by Diana Simmonds
Marcus Stoinis of the Stars celebrates his records score against the Sixers.
Analysis
Big Bash

Big Bash stars struggling for international recognition

Getting into the Australian Twenty20 team in a T20 World Cup year is not easy.

  • by Dean Jones
Rafael Nadal speaking at Federation Square this week.
Opinion
Australian Open

Strings attached: There is no sport like tennis for selling its soul

After a little back-and-forth between The Age and Rafael Nadal's PR company, we declined to interview the tennis legend.

  • by Greg Baum
A portrait of Wilson Gavin distributed by his family. He was 21.
Opinion
LGBT

The sad death of Wilson Gavin: a plea for civil debate over toxic pile-ons

A young, conservative gay man ends his own life the day after a toxic "pile-on" on social media. A progressive gay man writes that it is cause for deep reflection.

  • by Jack Whitney
Australia is vulnerable to a climate backlash
Opinion
Investing

Corporate Australia looks vulnerable to a global climate backlash

The climate wars that have torn national politics apart for over a decade are causing serious ructions in the corporate and investment world.

  • by John McDuling
A pall of smoke hangs over Sydney.
Opinion
Climate policy

After the smoke clears: a path to zero emissions

A pall has hung over south-eastern Australia since the untimely fires in New South Wales and Queensland late last winter. It will lift from a diminished natural and human heritage. Beautiful parts of Australia have been disfigured. The lift may also reveal a changed political environment, in which all Governments want to join the global action against the climate change threat to our security and prosperity.

  • by Ross Garnaut
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Feeling stress or anxiety at work that you can’t quite put your finger on?
Opinion
The lowdown

Workers strike balance between empowerment and control

Employees are being encouraged to take more responsibility for their actions just as workplaces become increasingly subject to control and accountability measures.

  • by David Brown, Rachael Lewis and Nicole Sutton
While Sydney house prices had reached "fair value", strong population growth, low interest rates and unstoppable demand will maintain house price growth.
Opinion
Tourism

Forget Port Botany for cruise ships, even the Red Cross supports Garden Island

Botany Bay doesn’t make the best of statements for passengers arriving in Sydney. Never has done, it seems, if we cast our minds back to 1788.

  • by Richard Whitington
An 85-year-old woman was allegedly robbed of more than $2 million.
Letters
Letters

Turning a profit out of aged tests means less care

Governments and bureaucrats should look outside their current agendas and develop more innovative ways to deliver aged care effectively and efficiently to individuals.

Australia needs to motor into the future.
Opinion
Climate policy

Australia, the jalopy nation: why we're having car trouble

The nation is falling behind the global move to electric cars. The Coalition government hasn't even managed to execute its own plan to cut car emissions.

  • by David Crowe
How parents relate to their own bodies influences how their children relate to theirs.
Opinion
Body language

I want my daughters to know what I didn't: your weight is not your worth

A family member recently asked how I feel about my own eating disorder experiences and body image in light of being a mother.

  • by Sarah Berry
The acceleration of technology will only serve to fuel privacy concerns.
Opinion
Work in Progress

What are your privacy rights at work?

Many employees just wish their bosses would mind their own business about personal information - but can they expect that?

  • by James Adonis
In the Herald
Australia

In the Herald: January 17, 1944

Meat rationing begins today, State Lottery "Humbug", and a tornado in Campbelltown .

  • by Lyn Maccallum
People visit the Alien Research Centre in Hiko, Nevada, near Area 51.
Opinion
Space

It's not mad to believe in aliens, life is out there somewhere

Scoff at those who believe in aliens all you like, but over the next few decades we'll know for sure if we really are alone.

  • by Sarah Cruddas
Properties destroyed in Conjola Park in the New Year's Eve fires.
Opinion
Bushfires

Some of the most predatory companies thrive in times of disaster

Loopholes in the law continue to allow unscrupulous "storm chaser" operators to prey on victims of natural disasters.

  • by Elizabeth Minter
Netflix's The Irishman.
Opinion
Oscars

Netflix isn't disrupting anything when it comes to Oscar nominations and diversity

Last year, the streaming service put its money where its mouth was with Roma. This year it's a case of: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

  • by Mary McNamara
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Climate change protesters rally against Scott Morrison's response to the bushfire crisis in Sydney on Friday.
Opinion
Climate policy

Fires could melt PM's anti-establishment vote back into the earth

It could be argued Morrison has misunderstood the very political pendulum that swung his government into office last May.

  • by Tom Akhurst
Column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
Column 8

The peril of the round table

Return of the duck.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie says an audit into her sports grants program found no rules were broken.
Editorial
Corruption

Pork-barrelling of sports fund undermines public trust

Ministers must not interfere in the process of awarding government grants.

  • The Herald's View
The pressure to provide national leadership on the bushfires gave a useful cover for ditching the goal of a surplus.
Analysis
Please Explain podcast

Politics of fire

This week on Please Explain, Tory Maguire speaks with chief political correspondent David Crowe and environment editor Peter Hannam about the political fallout from the national bushfire crisis.

  • by Tory Maguire